Foxhunter Chase Trends and Free Bets for the 2025 Cheltenham Festival

2025 Cheltenham Foxhunter Chase Trends

One of the races at the Cheltenham Festival for amateur jockeys, the Foxhunter chase is one of the highlights of the week for many punters seeing to use their Cheltenham free bets. Here are the trends you need to help find the winner at betting apps:

The last 10 winners:

• Were bred in Ireland or France.
• Had won on a left-handed track.
• Last ran no more than 53 days ago.
• Last won no more than three runs ago, five winning last time out.

Nine of the last 10 winners:

• Were aged older that nine (exception last year's victor Sine Nomine).
• Had won a hunter chase (exception Porlock Bay, who ran in only one hunter chase prior and finished second).
• Last ran in a hunter chase, or won an open point-to-point.
• Had won at least four times over fences, including in point-to-points (Porlock Bay had only won one point-to-point).

Eight of the last 10 winners:

• Finished in the first three on their last run (exceptions It Came To Pass and On The Fringe in 2016).

Key Trials in the last 10 years

With so many hunter chase options, there are not many recognised trials for the Foxhunter Chase. Traditionally, the Raymond Smith Memorial Hunter Chase at Leopardstown in February was the best guide, but that has been discontinued with the creation of the Dublin Racing Festival.

The best bet for the 2025 Foxhunter Chase at Cheltenham is to follow horses that win hunter chases run on left-handed courses, preferably ones described as 'galloping', 'undulating', or 'testing'.

Trainer Trends

• If you had bet £1 on all of Paul Nicholls's 14 runners in the last 11 years (didn't have a runner in 2024), you would be £45 in profit! 
• Irish trainer Enda Bolger has saddled two winners and two placed finishers from 10 runners in the last 11 years (no runner in 2024 and may not return in 2025 again).
• Irish trainers have won four of the last 10 renewals but just two of the last eight.

Jockey Trends

• Five of the last 10 runnings have been won by female jockeys.
• Six of the last eight runnings have been won by jockeys based in Britain.

How Did the Trends do Last Year?

Sine Nomine was an 8/1 winner and fit just about every key trend, having won a hunters chase last time out on a left-handed galloping track. However, he was slightly younger than recent winners of the race, as they have tended to be at eight years old.

He was by no means an obvious choice, with 11/8 favourite Its On The Line very strong in the betting, but he did tick most boxes so couldn't be called a trends bust by any stretch. Time Leader was a big-priced third at 50/1 and fit plenty of the trends as we noted on this page.

Who Fits The Trends Best In 2025?

The two at the head of the betting currently, Its On The Line (second for the last two years) and Angels Dawn, fit the age profile, but the latter's form has tended to come from point-to-points and not hunters chases, while the former will still be on the younger side at eight but fits every other trend going. Last year's winner faces a tougher task this time given he has only raced in handicap chases since the win, unseating his rider once and falling the other occasion.

Willitgoahead is fancied in the betting but is just seven years old so might be seen as too inexperienced for this big field. Winged Leader is long in the tooth at 11 and has spent much of the last two years campaigning in the point-to-point scene.

2024 Cheltenham Foxhunter Chase Result